Bird Watching_(0)

I had never really understood the appeal of bird watching, but my husband loved it. We’d been married for a little over three years when he finally got me to come out on a day trip with him. We left the city at around 6 in the morning and drove out to a spot near Banff, where we parked and then hiked for an hour deeper into the park, where there were some blinds and small out buildings set up for bird watching. The early morning June weather was crisp, but as the sun got higher it warmed up, and I tied my jacket around my waist. I was wearing a pair of ‘mommy jeans,’ hiking boots, a light long sleeve shirt and a sports bra; excellent hiking clothes.

There weren’t a lot of other people on the trail, but we saw a few as we walked. Eventually we got to the spot where my husband said the best birds were, and we set our bags down on one of the picnic tables. We got out our binoculars and pretty soon my husband was in his own little world, pointing out birds to me, and scribbling down all the ones he saw in his birding notebook. I got bored pretty quickly, and started playing some Hearthstone on my phone.

At a little after ten, just as I was considering going for a walk for a bit on my own, or at least digging into some of the snacks when a young woman came up the path into the clearing. I gave her a wave, and she waved back with a sunny smile. I got up and left my husband to his birds and walked over to her.

“Hi,” I said, quietly. My husband had been very keen on making sure we were quiet, so as not to frighten off the birds. “I’m Rebecca. Are you here for birdwatching, or just hiking about?”

“Carol. Just out for a hike,” she said as she shook my hand, with an Australian or New Zealand accent, I’m not sure which. “I just moved to Banff to work for the summer, this is my first time to go exploring in the mountains. You like birds?”

I laughed a bit. “Not really, but my husband loves it so I came along. Are you hiking alone?”

“Yep! I don’t know many people here, so I’m all on my lonesome today.”

“You should probably have a hiking buddy. The bears are starting to come down to the lower mountain this time of year, and there are always cougars,” I told her.

She gave me a funny look, “Cougars?”

“Ya, you know, cougars, mountain lions, pumas. They have lots of different names, but they’re big mean cats. That’s why it’s always better to hike in a pair or a group, because then the animals won’t bother you.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize! I don’t suppose there’s any chance you’d like to walk with me for a bit is there? I wanted to go higher up, I didn’t realize it might be dangerous!”

I thought about it for a second. This girl seemed nice, and I was bored silly looking at birds through binoculars. I agreed, and went and told my husband. He didn’t mind and went back to his birds. I grabbed my backpack with its water, snacks, and various junk, pulling out a water bottle for both me and Carol.

We set off, chatting as we went. Carol told me she was 19, from Auckland and working at a hotel in Banff for the summer.